Tuesday, 10 February 2009

The Power of Identification

I'm a huge fan of the film "The Terminator" which come in three instalments.

In the original film The Terminator, a human-looking cyborg is sent from the future to kill/terminate Sarah Connor, the future mother of John Connor, who will become the leader of the resistance against the machines. The Terminator is a "cybernetic organism" with "living tissue over a metal endoskeleton." Terminator 2, Script It is this living tissue that makes him look human. When the Terminator's skin melts, he appears as the metal endoskeleton machine intent on fulfilling his mission to terminate Sarah Connor. He doesn't succeed, however. At the end of the film, Sarah Connor falls pregnant.

In the second instalment, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the future John Connor sends another human-looking cyborg Terminator that has been reprogrammed to protect his teenage self from another Terminator. The Terminator that has been sent to terminate John Connor is an advanced model made of liquid metal that can shape-shift into simple forms. Again, the Terminator doesn't succeed in his mission.

In the third instalment, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, John Connor sends another human-looking cyborg to protect his younger self from an even more advanced Terminator that is made of liquid metal and can shape shift into complex weapons. While the Terminator doesn't succeed in terminating John Connor, she is not able to prevent the rise of the machines.

I hear they're making a fourth film. No doubt, this will focus on the war between man and machine. I can't wait to see it.

For me, the Terminator films are excellent reminders about the power of identification. Even though the Terminators look human, they are not identifying with their human selves but as who they really are underneath. That's why they are almost invincible. If, for instance, the Terminator with endoskeleton had identified himself as a flesh and blood human, he would have been vulnerable to human weapons. His endoskeleton was able to protect him; and his programming drove him to fulfil his mission. The Terminators are also connected to the other cyborgs in the future.

The Terminator's make-up reminds me of my own make-up. Though I appear as a human with living tissue, underneath it is light. It's not just a theory, I know this to be real because I've experienced myself as the boundless Light that is in all on many occasions. The One Light is clothing Itself in the many outfits/life forms/masks. The One Intelligence in me is the same Intelligence in all.

There is a constant battle going on between the flesh and the Spirit/Light. Every moment I have a choice whether to identify myself as a person with a family heritage, gender, race, class, sexuality, philosophy, material possessions, education, likes and dislikes, thoughts, feelings, etc; or as Spirit/Light that is unconditioned and forever free.

When I got on the bus this morning and sat down, I hit my knee against the railing and it hurt. That's what comes from identifying myself as flesh and blood. I reversed the experience instantly by thinking "I am Light." My body lost its density and felt like light and I felt no pain.